Art Extravaganza at My Favorite Books

Discover a new local artist, learn about their work, and pick up a thoughtful, unique gift for yourself or a friend! There will be wood collages, photography, note-cards, ornaments, pottery, and more!

Joan Helms found her way to clay by supporting a close friend who wanted to take a pottery class at Le Moyne. Her friend dropped the class but what started for Joan was a creative outlet that allows her to relax and explore life with minimal thinking. After 15+ years, Joan is still amazed with the process of transforming balls of clay into works of art. For Joan, pottery is about centering the body, making a connection with the clay and not letting the mind take over. She makes functional pottery for everyday use as well as decorative pieces. Individually hand-built or thrown on the wheel, painted with food safe and microwave safe glazes, every piece is different. Hand-made pottery enriches the enjoyment of food and life. Her hope is that you will use and enjoy the pottery in your daily living.

Honey Hilliard will have available for purchase her color-along book, Looking for Butterflies, as well as notecards, her one-of-a-kind artwork, and more! After obtaining a bachelor of science in conceptual art from FSU, Honey painted the birds for Florida’s bird identification poster and other wildlife for the state of Florida, becoming known as Florida’s bird artist. She authored and illustrated Looking for Butterflies, an interactive environmentally focused book that takes place at St. Marks Refuge, with two little girls on a nature walk, hoping to see some butterflies. Along the way, they come across lots of plants and critters. The book introduces the audience to animal symbolism and the idea that animals can bring messages if we pay attention when they show up in our lives.

Howard Ferstler is a retired FSU library bibliographer who has published four books, edited two more, and published over 150 magazine articles. These days he is an artist who first started out making furniture for his home in his well-equipped small workshop, and ended up making colorful collages with the left-over wood pieces. He uses a variety of dyes, paints, and woods (new and old), with his goal being colorful statements that relax the mind please the eye. He also has done artistic photography, offering both earlier pieces, mostly landscapes and flowers, as well as later ones done digitally, all involving flowers. Each of his creations are done simply, with no attempt made to overindulge the technologies.

Pattie Maney has been creating and exhibiting art for more than twenty-five years and has finally brought her to the perfect subject – animals. The pets in her life have made such a profound difference in the quality of her every day.  They wake her in the morning to see the sunrise and they take her outside to see it set in the evening. Studying their anatomy and the hair that makes up their beautiful coats are things that brings her joy. The bright colors she often uses convey her feelings of love for them. “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” – Will Rogers

Barbara Psimas is a member of the Florida State University Museum’s Artists’ League and the Le Moyne Art Foundation. When she attended Tallahassee Community College, she formed the TCC Art Club, illustrated for the Talon Newspaper, and was the 1997 Art Editor for the Eyrie, TCC Art & Literary Magazine, an award-winning college publication. Barbara currently works from her Midtown studio, creating what she is known for: Madonna paintings, Koi Series and Painting to Music Series. She is an active member of our local art community continues to support many artistic projects and events.

Jinsey Amber Smith’s childhood home in a very woodsy, humid area of north Florida has long inspired her artwork; she strives to give viewers a sense fantasy inspired by the natural world. Using acrylic paint, coffee filters dyed with watercolors, and pearl ex pigment, she creates a “paper mosaic” collage featuring animals, humans, and colorful designs. We’re happy to carry her notecards on a regular basis here at My Favorite Books. She’ll have originals, prints, notecards, and more available on Saturday during our annual Art Extravaganza!